Author: thependulumswings staff

Ugly Americans

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Megan Rapinoe penalty kick that went terribly awry hadn’t yet landed in row twelve Sunday, sending the USWNT home way earlier than expected from World Cup 2023, when Twitter and other mediums fired up the disgust, disdain, and downright hate.

America loves a winner that also loves America.  America empathizes with a loser that also loves America.  America hates a loser that also hates America.

Ms. Rapinoe(we aren’t sure that she would approve of the MS) became the lightning rod in the middle of the storm that this team created.  They managed to skip/kneel/ and act disinterested during the National Anthem one too many times for one too many American.

Their gripes were plentiful and aimed at a country that gave them opportunities a plentiful.  Social injustices were just the start.  Equal pay became the cry.  And, mint dyed hair herself said that her greatest accomplishment over the last eight years with this team was “equal pay.”  Interesting answer.

People’s want for equal pay in America is tempered by doing an equal job in the capitalist arena.  When far fewer folks watch the tv pays far less to teams because advertisers and sponsors get charged less.  Usually.

Don’t believe it?  Ask any WNBA player.

And, the last straw was her overtly expressed desire for trans women to be allowed to play soccer, and for that matter all sports, with the biological kind.  American sentiment runs strongly the other way.

The kick and the team’s shortfall have now been labeled “the woke choke.”

Megan Rapinoe is on a very short list of the most controversial sports personalities of the 21st century.  She’s got a lot to say on a lot of topics.  America prefers to keep sports as an escape from the daily discourse that is far too rampant.

Some, predictably and as is their right, dribbled in her defense.

Pablo Torre, Spanish soccer player for La Liga club Girona tweeted, “Nothing says AMERICA FIRST more than rooting against *checks notes* the literal U.S national team because they *checks notes* peacefully exercised freedom of speech.”

Someone needs to tell Pablo that freedom of speech in the USA works both ways. If you don’t like red, white, and blue, red, white, and blue might not like you either.  If he would have received a Presidential Medal of Freedom as Rapinoe did, he would know that.

The penalty for missing a penalty kick is that you get sent home.  The penalty for missing a penalty kick when you have repeatedly trash-talked your home is far greater.

Rapinoe’s world stage just collapsed and not a moment too soon.

That is unless Joe Biden invites them to the White House to celebrate their 16th-place finish.

 

The Fight for our Democracy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you’re from the left you know  President Donald Trump stirred up his ultra MAGA loonies to storm the Capitol Building on 1/6/21.  He deserves to be impeached, indicted, tried, and convicted.  No sentence is too harsh for this treasonist act.

If you’re from the right you know that the Feds and Nancy Pelosi were heavily involved in staging J6 from the jump.  She refused National Guard help offered by Trump the night prior. This is all a part of a bigger plot to discredit Trump and keep him occupied so that he may never occupy the White House again.

It’s ping pong.

Turn on your favorite news channel and they’ll repeatedly show you evidence and put on “experts” 24/7 to validate what they want you to believe and what you want to believe.

Twitter knows you better than you do.  Every time you open a tweet, retweet a tweet, copy and paste a tweet, or open a video Twitter knows you even better than it did prior.  It, too, feeds you more of what you want to see, hear, and believe.

Objective, logical, balanced, and clear discussions are gone.  Any debate really means you hate.  Disinformation is slang for “I disagree with what you are saying.”

“The fight for our democracy” is a catchphrase now applied daily every single time one side wants to hysterically rile up its base.

There is no doubt that Hunter Biden, his friends, business associates, and hookers helped him show Chinese and Ukrainian businesses the benefits to have him on their board.  Or, better yet, they could “do some business” with his company and access to the then VP was theirs for the taking.

Don’t forget 10% for the big guy.  It’s all there on his laptop the right side howls.  Joe Biden says he never met one of Hunter’s business associates.  Ever.  Pictures of the same be damned.

Ironically, he’s never met his seventh grandchild either, but we digress.

The left says in spite of testimony under oath, emails, video of Joe bragging about getting the Ukrainian prosecutor fired, and Hunter’s repair shop laptop, there is no real evidence to connect any of these dots.

We could go on and on.  In ping pong, you have to win by two.

Meanwhile, we have a sitting president, whom the DNC shut down any competition to his renomination, who has the highest disfavorable ratings since Jimmy Carter ordered helicopters to land in Iran.  Bidenomics anyone?

On the flip side we have a twice impeached former president, now indicted for about the fourth time for god knows what, with a rabid base that has much fervor.  But beyond that 32% of the country, how much support does he have or can he garner?

One is an old 80, the other a spry 77.  Regardless, age is just a number.

Maybe it’s high time that some new blood and open thinking enter the arena to at least freshen the dialogue and reduce the diatribe.

That actually might make the media do its job.  Doubtful, but one can hope.

Give Robert Kennedy Jr a listen.  How about Vivek Ramaswamy?

Maybe you won’t agree with all of what they have to say.

But, maybe that’s better than believing everything that you hear from the same network or Twitter feed that you put on wash, rinse, and repeat daily.

It’s your serve.

 

 

Like Father, Like Son

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Coincidences?  Plenty.  Deja vu?  All over again.  Reality?  Sinking in.

Netflix is very good at docuseries.  They released a solid one in 2018 called Bobby Kennedy for President.  It has more viewers now than it did then.  It chronicles the then New York Senator Robert Kennedy’s life and philosophies prior to him running, running, the tragic ending, and its aftermath in the tumultuous mid-60s.

One-half of a century has passed.  One of his sons, Robert Kennedy Jr, was 14 then.  He’s 69 now.  Last evening he participated in a town hall setting on Fox’s Hannity show discussing his philosophies and beliefs as he is a candidate for President in 2024.

Senior traveled to California to support Cesar Chavez, an American labor leader and civil rights activist.  He walked the streets of very rural East Kentucky, the backwoods of Mississippi, and the streets of LA post-Watts riots.  In short, he connected with the people in the street who felt disconnected.

Those were very divided times.  His brother President John was killed in Dallas.  Malcolm X was assassinated in New York.  Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis.  America was spending a fortune in lives and dollars in a war that it could not win in the jungles of Vietnam.

Junior lamented last evening about how divided we are today, exclaiming that, while a bit more civil, we are every bit as divided today.  He went on to question why we are in a war (by proxy including plenty of $) with Russia when we need so many wrongs made right here at home.

Senior built a nationally organized grassroots campaign in a sense.  Junior is forced into a similar route as the DNC decided to shut down its nomination process to protect one Joesph Biden.

Bobby had plenty of momentum, winning the California Primary moments before walking into a hotel kitchen that he would not walk out of.  He very likely would have faced Nixon.

Robert Jr. seems like he is gaining momentum by the day.  He’s direct, studied, and wants “to tell America the truth.”  He has many beliefs that are conservative as well.  His dad had a few, too.

Both father and son were/are Democrats.  But, you sense that they decide to take stances on issues one by one through careful consideration, not just following party lines and espousing careless rhetoric.

Both decided to run against sitting presidents in their own party running for reelection.   Senior v Lyndon Baines Johnson and Junior v Biden.

In the summer of 1968, the war seemed more futile than ever. Johnson’s approval rating fell into the mid-30s, the approval for his handling of Vietnam even lower.  He was battling significant, though some undisclosed, health problems as well.

LBJ shocked the globe in 1968. He ended a Sunday night TV speech with, “Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”

Will Biden actually run in 2024?  His approval ratings are woeful as well.  His handling of Ukraine v Russia isn’t good either.  His health?  Most would agree that physically he’s better off than he is mentally, but that says little.  And little is what his handlers continue to try to get him to say.

The DNC, try as it might, did not close the door.  The RNC should be shown the door.

Obama in 2008 and Trump in 2016 came from almost nowhere.

History might be our best teacher.

Deja vu?

Hurricane DC

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you’re still driving around wearing a mask have we got good news for you?

The White House on Friday launched the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, half a year after Congress instructed the administration to set up a new arm in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is a now-permanent installment in Washington and will first be led by retired Major General Paul Friedrichs, a longtime biosecurity official. It comes roughly two months after the Covid-19 public health emergency ended and weeks after Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha stepped down, reflecting an overall wind-down of the administration’s coronavirus efforts.

Just in time!

Pandemics are like hurricanes.  You know another one is coming.  Best be prepared.  You don’t know exactly where and when it will hit.  And, they both get named by the government.

There was Alpha and our favorite Delta AY.4.2 amongst many other COVID-19 variants that caused us to run to CVS for a booster or three.  Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Sandy needed no boosters, strong on their own accord.

Permanent installments in DC grow like hurricanes as well.  They start small, grow into an unstoppable fury, and leave a mess behind time and again.

After 9/11 the Transportation Security Administration was created.  It’s now a permanent installment as well.

As of the fiscal year 2020, the TSA operated on a budget of approximately $7.7 billion and employed over 47,000 Transportation Security Officers, Behavior Detection Officers, Transportation Security Specialists, Federal Air Marshals, and other security personnel.  The FY 2023 Budget is 34% higher at $10.3B and manned(or womanned) by 60,652 positions or 29% more fine government workers.

That’s Bidenomics!  Grow the government from the bottom up and the middle out.

Don’t you feel safer?  Remember to take off your shoes before going through the airport gauntlet, please.

You’d think that the combo of WHO, NIH, FDA, and the CDC would be able to handle the next time some Chinese bats take flight.  Or did it escape from the lab Anthony?

But, no.  It is time, or past time really, for another arm to be added to the many in DC there to serve you.

Thank goodness Biden and Kamala are urging the wealthy to pay their fair share.  As they remind us, there is still work to do.

Maybe the government is the virus, after all, it spreads just like a pandemic does.

Unfortunately, like COVID, there does not seem to be an effective vaccine to eliminate its growth.

 

 

 

It’s (Still) On.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Ok, Ok.  BBR is back.

When one of our faithful readers labels you as Buttercup, it’s time to self-reflect.

When age turns to experience and experience turns to wisdom, it’s both an opportunity and an obligation to share.  The goal from here on is to do just that but we’ll need your help.  More on that in a minute.

So, the fight goes on.  And, one of the very core reasons follows.

You’re being lied to by people in authoritative roles daily.  The goal is power and control.  When power and control are the goals the benefit is the gold.  And the approach has been incessant, yet refined over the years.  And, it is quite dangerous.

Let’s try to separate conspiracies, facts, fiction, and logic, unlike the sheep that they wish to herd.

Do you think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone shooting JFK?  Well, in accomplishing the very act, it’s likely.  How did it get to that point?  Ask the Mafia, the CIA, and the Cubans.  It’s all there to connect the dots.  Except it isn’t.  Your government, the one you pay for, refused to release the last 10% or so of the documents after burying them for 50 years and promising to do so.

America doesn’t have a tax “revenue” problem.  It has a serious spending problem.   Now thirty-two trillion in debt and counting and they label a green new deal giveaway as the Inflation Reduction Act.  Sounds good.  Except, the trillion in the giveaway actually puts more upward pressure on inflation.

And, our President thinks you’re dumb enough to think your life is somehow better because of it.  He puts his name on it and calls it Bidenomics in an effort to improve his low polling on the economy.  Maybe he’s right, not about the economy, but about the IQs walking around town.

“The rich should pay their fair share.”  And, the crowd at the Bernie rally goes wild.  The facts are that the top one percent of American earners pay 42% of the tax money collected, and the top 10% pay 74%.  Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren should be ashamed for banging the drum that she took from her teepee on this issue as well.

Jeffery Epstein committed suicide.  That’s doubtful without a lot of “help.”  It’s weird how his guards fell asleep that evening and the surveillance cameras weren’t working either.  He knew too much about too many.  Release the evidence.  We have a right to know that Bill Gates is actually even weirder than he seems and that’s saying something.  How about Slick Willie?  What an apropos nickname that is.

Where did the flu disappear to whilst we fought the invisible giant Covid for two years?  Flu shots are optional.  Covid “vaccines” damn near weren’t.  Oh, and they weren’t vaccines.  Even Fauci knows that.  And, he knows a lot more.  Dr. Rand Paul is one of the few good ones in Congress.  And, the good doc is going to expose this.  If you’ll line up for a shot without knowing its contents and side effects, surely you’ll line up to get sheared every other month.

Don’t call it the China flu or the Wuhan flu either.  That’s insensitive.  What’s insensitive is that the research that you funded escaped from a lab over there.  You just don’t need to know that.

Cocaine in the White House?  The FBI says there’s no way to figure out who carried it in and why.  No cameras, no guards.  Maybe Epstein brought it in?  Nothing to see here.  Move along.

Men can be women now.  And women can be men.  Don’t argue.  It’s insensitive as well.  The current population of the World in 2023 is 8,045,311,447.  And 8,045,311,447 of them were birthed by a woman.  Zero was birthed by a man.

Ronald Reagan once eloquently said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-fought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same.”

So as mentioned, we need your help.  This forum needs to educate those around us.  Most that read(not all which is cool) BBR are of like mind.  Sitting around in a virtual circle all nodding affirmative heads won’t help too much.  That’s nice, but we need to spread the word.  Please pass it on daily to others and ask them to do the same.

Mark Twain once eloquently said, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Buttercup, eh?

 

 

 

 

 

Enough Is Too Much

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

They say that all good things must come to an end.  We aren’t sure of that.  As a matter of fact, if you’ve been along for the five-plus years of BBR.com, you’ve learned that we tend to question more than we answer.

But, one thing that we are sure of is that it is time to move on.

The website has served its time and at times has served it well.  In no particular order, the maintenance, upkeep, time, and energy have taken their toll.  We don’t have bigger fish to fry, just different fish.

Our philosophy isn’t moving on, just the vessel that transports it is.

Let us summarize.

America has a big problem on its hands.  Any student of history or any learned human can see it.  We’re divided.  We’re divided because philosophically we’ve morphed a long way from where we were in a short period of time.

Some folks think it’s good.  Some not.

Dems now support war v. protesting against it is but one example.

In years gone by liberals would have marched against a vaccine that wasn’t a vaccine.  This go around they hysterically supported it.  Some still walk around wearing masks.  We almost feel sorry for them.

We once referred to crime as blue-collar or white-collar.  But, we’ve been asked to not see color any longer.  Besides, nobody wears collars anymore either.

A growing number of prosecutors are now bought and paid for by people named Soros.  He owns them for the price of not prosecuting.  He either hates America or has a death wish for us all.

We have stores closing in major cities left and right.  Cops won’t answer a theft call out much less arrest the thieves.  Store management is telling its employees to stand aside and watch.  Crime does pay.

We have a President who has no philosophy.  He’s a bought-and-paid-for career politician.  He’s been schilling for 40 years and tells us that there is much work to be done.  Supposedly 81 million bought into what he was selling.  What he was selling was far-left vitriol that promised pre-election to fold into his flock for the election if he would fold on a few of their wishes post-election.

He actually thinks that the economy is good.  “We’re building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out!”  He has no idea what that means cause it means nothing.  “And our Bidenomics plan is working.”  There is no plan.

Somebody was snorting cocaine in the White House recently.  God bless the queen, man.

The government doesn’t build the economy, capitalism does.  The government gets in the way of free trade with regulations on what those in power don’t like(oil)

and gives handouts to those that they do like(green).

Would you vote for Biden again?  If it’s Trump v Biden many will.   America will lose again. Trump lost and might lose again.

The left hates him as does the establishment right.  He threatens them because he exposes them for what they are.  You might hate his hubris, his pettiness, and his ego. But, if you look past that and see what he does, it is good for long-term America.  And he’s only been impeached or indicted about a half dozen times.

At least he has a backbone.

Biden walks, talks, and acts like an amoeba.  Was that last sentence hateful?  Truthful?  Both?

Climate change.  Climate change.  Climate change.   Say it enough and most will believe it.

We don’t talk anymore, we text, Instagram, or TicTok.  Elon owns Twitter.  He said yesterday, “Put the phone down, and go outside.”

The war on drugs isn’t going too well.  You open the border wider than ever and drugs flow in quantities larger than ever before.  Demand is not half of the problem, it’s all of the problem.  Supply isn’t the problem.  It wasn’t the problem and is even less so now.  San Fran hands out needles.

On the Fourth, we celebrated our nation’s independence.  Yet, daily, those in power attempt to make us more dependent.  You’re a victim.

Some want more gun control.  Sensible gun control they call it.  Yet, yesterday we celebrated those CITIZENS that fought for us with guns against GOVERNMENT tyranny nearly 250 years ago.  How many people shot off a bottle rocket yesterday and have no idea?

Our government would never do that to us, right?

Immigration unfettered is good, right?  Ask France this morning how that’s working out.

We hope that some of our articles gave you pause, made you think, or perhaps even changed your mind.

If you’d like to continue to read some of our rants and musings, let us know in the comment section and I’ll put you on a good old-fashioned email list.  When the mood strikes the words will pour into your inbox.

Thank you for your time.

 

Justice is Blind?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The reaction to the Supreme Court action striking down Affirmative Action was fast and mostly furious.

It’s been a tough 12 months for the left.  Last June the highest court in all of the land struck down Roe v. Wade.  Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe “must be overruled” because they were “egregiously wrong,” the arguments “exceptionally weak” and so “damaging” that they amounted to “an abuse of judicial authority.”

Yesterday, left-minded folks thought the repeal of Affirmative Action for college admissions should be “overruled” because it is “egregiously wrong” for minorities.  They went on and on basically saying that the action on the Action is “an abuse of judicial authority.”

It’s funny how that works when the system works but works against your belief.

President Joe Biden said, “This is not a normal court.”  Of course, twice on Tuesday, he said Putin was losing the war with Iraq.  That too isn’t normal, but we digress.   We wonder what a “normal court” is or looks like.

Speaking of looking like, Judge Kantanji Brown Jackson looks just like the person Joe Biden said he would appoint to the Supreme Court if he got a chance while in office.

“The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue, in my view.”

Twitter handle The Babylon Bee pounced.  “Awkward: Supreme Court rules against Affirmative Action with Affirmative Action hire sitting right there.”

And Judge Jackson went all in.  The first Black woman to serve on the court wrote in a dissent: “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the (court’s) majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”

Judge Clarence Thomas retorted, “Justice Jackson claims that this locks blacks into a seemingly perpetual inferior caste.  Such a view is irrational; it is an insult to individual achievement and cancerous to young minds seeking to push through the barriers, rather than consigning themselves to permanent victimhood.”

In 1991 then Deleware Senator Joe Biden chaired the Senate nomination committee that sent Thomas’ nomination to the full floor and confirmed him by a 52-48 vote to the bench.  The irony.

Harvard University admissions data revealed, amongst other things, that an Asian American in the 90-plus percentile range on entrance qualifications has less of a chance(12.7%) of gaining admission than an African American in the 40 percentile(12.8%).

“Affirmative” is defined as “supportive, hopeful, or encouraging.”  Do you think Asian Americans find the above supportive?  Hopeful?  Encouraging?  Discouraging?

The irony.  The very premise of Affirmative Action was to give everyone a fair chance by eliminating choosing one over another due to skin color.  It does exactly the opposite.

Playing the victim card just got harder.

And, we thought justice was blind.

 

 

 

On Deck

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the flyover state of Nebraska, the NCAA Men’s College World Series(CWS) is in full swing.  Last evening Wake Forest was eliminated, leaving LSU and Florida as the only two standing.

It’s promoted as The Greatest Show on Dirt.

And, it’s inching closer to winner take all.  Gone are wannabees Oral Roberts, Virginia, Stanford, Tennessee, TCU, and the aforementioned Wake Forest.

The entire event is a real slice of what is right in America.  Omaha puts its very best foot forward as the host.  If you flyover, you’ll miss it.

In all of America, the race for 2024 is in full swing as well.  Not one Republican entry has been eliminated yet.  But, the Democrats eliminated all of their wannabees before the race started.

It could be promoted as The Dirtiest Not So Great Show.

But isn’t it inching closer to Donald J Trump former President vs. sitting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr?

Sure there are Republican wannabee nominees like Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder, Asa Hutchinson, etc.  Heck, even Robert Kennedy decided to disobey the DNC and announce his candidacy from the left side.

But, aren’t there really only two?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

Did you have Barack Obama(it was Hillary’s to lose) on your bingo card in 2008?  2012? How bout The Donald(it was Jeb Bush’s to lose) in 2016?  And, did you think Joe Biden(original signer of the Declaration of Independence) would garner the White House in 2020 straight from his basement, mask and all?

It seems, much like gravity, the race to the bottom is on.

More than 50% of Americans don’t want Trump to run.  More than 50% of Americans have seen enough of Joe Biden and want him to exit stage left or right.  Well, actually, his handlers would just like him to remember which side of the stage to exit daily as well, but we digress.

America is screaming for a leader louder than 20,000 jello-shot-filled LSU fans were for 10 innings last evening in downtown Omaha.

Maybe someone emerges from this pack unexpectedly.

But as of now, it seems harder than hitting a Paul Skenes fastball.

America only has its serious “For the World” series once every four years.

Hopefully, America doesn’t strike out in 2024.

 

 

 

Win Big and Go Home.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s right below the Republican elephant’s nose trunk and they can’t see it.  It’s the winning ticket for 2024.

No, it’s not Trump and Kari Lake.  No, it’s not DeSantis and Tulsi Gabbard.  Oh God no, it’s not Pence and anyone.

It’s term limits.  That’s right.  Run against yourself.  Limit your time there.

Think about it.

Any poll that you can find shows a great majority of Americans feel that Biden is too old or incompetent or both and should not run again.

Octogenarians are everywhere in DC.  Bernie Sanders is older than Colonel Sanders.  Nancy Pelosi participated in the original test group for Poly Grip.  Mitch McConnell is the older brother of the Smith Brothers Cough Drops brothers.  Maxine Waters was there when Moses parted the red sea waters.

Joe Biden is an original signer of the Declaration of Independence.  “No joke.  Listen, folks.  I’m serious.  John Hancock and I used to go to black churches together.”

It’s all quite stale.  And, old.

Even polarizing Ted Cruz sees it.  He introduces a bill in the Senate every two years post elections to limit both sides of the House to 12 years in office.  And every two years congressmen and congresswomen and those who identify otherwise vote to keep their jobs for longer than that.

And, as Americans, we sit around and complain about the cronyism.  Yet, we don’t demand action.

The Dems smartly will have their big issues front and center.  You know them.

Let’s end racism!  This a battle for our democracy.  The rich should pay their fair share.  Abortion is a right!  The LGBTQA+2 deserves equal rights.  It’s a war on women.  Teachers deserve a raise!  Let’s pass sensible gun legislation!  We have to build an economy from the bottom up, and the middle out (can anyone, anyone explain that one?).

The Republicans could run on “you don’t like us and you don’t like them.  Let us do our job and send us home.”

That’s what they did in the horse and buggy days.  They voted as quickly as they could and got back home to tend to their real job.  Representing was representing. It wasn’t a permanent meal ticket in and out of Dulles International and in and out of lobbyists’ pockets.

Say it loud and proud, “Vote for me, and I’ll go to Washington to vote against me!”

Inflation, border, foreign policy, debt issues, and Biden’s mental and physical health issues are there for the taking.  We can (maybe) assume they’ll get that messaging right.

But, it’s past time to up the ante on keen marketing.

And, it is past time for term limits.

Oh, Snap

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Back in November 1980 Roberto Duran and Ray Leonard were in Round 8 of their rematch for the Welterweight Championship of the world.  Duran, known as Hands of Stone, stunned the boxing world by quitting in the middle of the round, uttering “no mas,” meaning no more.  Leonard’s flash, panache, and right hand beat Duran into submission.

Fast forward to today and many Americans feel like Roberto.  No more they say when it comes to expanding our bloated national debt.  Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy went a few rounds themselves before pounding out a deal to extend the debt limit and spending more money but supposedly less than they would have otherwise.

It’s inaptly named the Fiscal Responsibility Act(FRA).  Remember the Inflation Reduction Act that didn’t have anything to do with reducing inflation?  New Bills coming out of the government are keeping pace with bills that are due from previous Bills that caused this circular reference.

The FRA, unlike the rematch of Hands of Stone v Sugar, allows both sides to claim victory.

But ringside, aka Capitol Hill, the judges are grumbling.  Will there be enough yes votes this week in the House to get this through?  Twenty Republican conservatives(about the same number as there are left in the House) are publicly hands down like Roberto’s were 43 years ago.  No mas spending irresponsibly they said.

This bill allows the debt to rise another 4 trillion from 32 by 2025.  Got that?  But that might not be enough to garner the far left.

“The Republicans did not win any major concessions on spending,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on a call with reporters Tuesday.  Could someone ask Rep Jayapal if that is a good thing or a bad thing for this country?

Cori Bush said she is undecided but is “leaning no” on the debt ceiling bill “As somebody who was a food stamp recipient, there is absolutely no way I can see myself green-lighting something that will take food from people’s mouths.”

Cori Bush Supporting Another Worthy Cause
The Congressional Budget Office said that the changes to work requirements for food stamps, officially known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), actually increase the cost of the program by $2.1 billion over the coming decade. The net result is more individuals qualifying for SNAP benefits and a higher price tag, the CBO said.  Oh, snap, Cori.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) stated that communities are worried about the clawback of COVID money in the debt ceiling bill because “they thought they had until 2024 to spend that money.” And that she has been telling communities, “If you need that money, you should be spending it now.”  BLM is more fiscally responsible than Dingbell Dingell.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Tuesday that she will vote against the bill to lift the debt ceiling as well.  She gave no reason, but she’s above it all really anyway.
And, low and behold there is Speaker McCarthy’s slippery hold on to the speakership position, the championship belt,  at stake here.  He sold his soul to get the spot and now he sold his party down the street to strike the deal some say.  The threshold for a “motion to vacate the chair” is just one member, down from a standard of five put in place under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
All the while, the stock market is watching this carefully.  A “no mas” vote would send the indices tumbling down like where Roberto was going in round eight if he didn’t quit.
The government needs a standing eight count and some smelling salts ASAP.